Hey folks,
Yes, this is a movie review. It is also my most recent blog post.
I am not trying to sell or promote my blog, I just wanted to share this review because it's so extremely relevant to this crowd.
I did not put it in Entertainment or Movies etc, because I wanted to see discussion about the Trans* representation in this film.
I would hate to be Mikael.
This movie is a typically French film in cinematic style. If you're not able to sit through an hour and 20 minutes of quiet dialogue, no overt storyline, subtitles and varying shades of sublety without turning to snoring, I don't recommend this.
However, what it lacks in North American pizzazz, it makes up for in poignancy and total, raw honesty.
The main character of this movie, Mikael. His birthname is a more feminine "Laure", but the 10 year old lacks the language or the courage to say he is a boy to his parents. Having moved at the beginning of the film, he meets the children in his apartment complex, introducing himself as Mikael and never once do they suspect.
Mikael doesn't say any of it to his parents, so at home he is still Laure. His little sister finds out through chance, and she needs no explanations, accepting Mikael as her brother.
His father is off working much of the movie, but the few times he appears seems sympathetic and open to having a son instead of a daughter. Mikael's mother causes him to be sectioned off from the friends he made, and - for lack of better terminology - sexually assaulted by his peers.
At the end of the film, Mikael says his name is Laure, but I think, like many transgendered folks in an environment that Mikael finds himself in at the end, he choses safety rather than authenticity.
There's a lot more detail to this film, and even though I have given you the ending, I recommend this film to anyone. Go find it on Netflix under Foreign Films.
Tomboy
***PARENTAL ALERT*** This movie is unabashed in showing frontal nudity. While innocent in nature, it behooves me to mention there is a scene where the main character (female bodied 10-ish-year-old) is shown clearly enough to leave no question what gender is physically represented.
So, there you have my review.
If you wish to respond to that, please do. If you can access the film, please watch at your own discretion and respond as you may.
